John David Magrath, born on July 4, 1924 in East Norwalk, Connecticut, enlisted in the 10th Mountain Division in March 1943 .
On April,14 1945, the day of the attack on the last German defences lines before the Po Valley, he served in Company G, 85th Regiment, stationed on Monte della SPE, near the hill-town of Castel d'Aiano.
The company's objective was Hill 909 which, together with the adjacent Hills 913 and 813, formed part of the central and most fortified German front line from which intense artillery, mortar and machine-gun fire came. It was a hard and bloody day and, according to various veterans' testimonies, the valley between the two spurs, Monte della SPE and Hills 813, 909 and 913, was littered with dead or wounded American soldiers.
The company's frontal assault was interrupted several times by heavy enemy fire. It was during one of these that John D. Magrath took the initiative and attacked the German positions. The second part of the third episode is devoted to this heroic act and the motivation behind his posthumous Medal of Honour is worth more than any words. Magrath was killed that afternoon while volunteering to collect data for a report on the number of soldiers killed and wounded. He was 20 years old.
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty when his company was pinned down by heavy artillery, mortar, and small arms fire, near Castel d'Aiano, Italy.
Volunteering to act as a scout, armed with only a rifle, he charged headlong into withering fire, killing 2 Germans and wounding 3 in order to capture a machinegun.
Carrying this enemy weapon across an open field through heavy fire, he neutralized 2 more machinegun nests; he then circled behind 4 other Germans, killing them with a burst as they were firing on his company.
Spotting another dangerous enemy position to this right, he knelt with the machinegun in his arms and exchanged fire with the Germans until he had killed 2 and wounded 3. The enemy now poured increased mortar and artillery fire on the company's newly won position. Pfc. Magrath fearlessly volunteered again to brave the shelling in order to collect a report of casualties. Heroically carrying out this task, he made the supreme sacrifice—a climax to the valor and courage that are in keeping with highest traditions of the military service.
John Magrath was the only Medal of Honour awarded to a soldier of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War. He is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Norwalk, Connecticut and a monument was dedicated to him in Riodomello, near the top of Hill 909, whose plaque was renewed in September 2023, by the production team of the miniseries in agreement with the administration of the Municipality of Castel d'Aiano, to honour his memory.
